Collapse
by I.J.Girl
Summary: The arrival of the Narada sends rippling aftershocks throughout the universes, causing the decay of the Universes; across the galaxies, entire areas vanish into thin air; worlds are torn asunder by unknown causes... And in the center of it all, in the one place where the two universes merge peacefully, is the man who caused it all. Fem-Kirk/Spock, Jim/Fem-Spock
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! ^^ Now, I posted this story as 'Home to Us' and the next day, I looked, and it had been bumped down to the third page already. XD This is a busier archive than I'm used to. Anyway, I got three reviews:**

**Seacat03, who said I should continue this. ^^ I am! XD**

**FieryRedSunrise, who said that he/she liked it, BUT my timing was off, "The Kelvin was attacked in 2233 not 2236 and Jim was just born when this happened not four years old." TRUE, but in fem-Spock's universe, the Narada appeared almost four years later than in cannon, over Earth instead of in the middle of space, where the Kelvin was trying to dock to let its crew off for shore leave; hence George being killed defending Earth(there's actually a reason for the timing being off besides the fact that I can do it) But, I want to thank you for pointing that out, because it shows that I need to explain it better. Which I suck at doing without starting to sound like a textbook. **

**And finally, Guest, who says that he/she likes my prose(OMGOSH, come here, let me love you!) and story idea. But, there are a lot of fem-kirk stories, and he/she finds fem-Spock's story much more intriguing. I agree. Whole heartedly. But, once again, there was a reason behind it...My entire storyline is based on the collapsing of these two universes into one another(which was made so that I'd have a reason to have Jim Kirk and fem-Kirk, Spock and fem-Spock actually working together for some sort of common good((which happened because I WAS DRAWING STUFF. So, if you want me to stop coming up with elaborate, crazy, story ideas, keep my pencils away. :P))) ANYWAY, my point was, i like the fem-Spock story and development more as well, but the fem-kirk world has to exist, or else I have no story. :/ Sorry.**

**Anyway, On with the Story! ^^ Enjoy!**

* * *

**Universe 25**

**STARDATE 2236.05.**

She heard her mother gasp quietly as she stiffened in her chair, her eyes skimming over information on her PADD. The child, Spock, (misnamed months before her birth, as her father and various midwives had been certain of her gender being male) glanced at Amanda with bright eyes, something she only displayed in the privacy of their home, despite keeping the neutral expression her father had diligently taught her to master.

"Mother, your change in posture indicates bad news," she informed her, not understanding the brief, hidden smile that flashed over her mother's features.

"_Bad news, _Spock, is a human expression, and it definitely applies here," Amanda gently corrected her child, knowing that human expressions outside of their home would be frowned upon, and she desperately wanted to spare her daughter any more grief. Already, she had been informed by a classmate of Spock's that a few of their peers were speaking harshly against Spock's genetics.

The girl looked slightly upset, but the emotion was quickly controlled, "What has happened?"

"A Star Fleet ship was attacked and destroyed as it was docking to allow it's crew members shore leave on Earth. The details were covered up by the Federation, but..." Amanda glanced to find her daughter's dark brown eyes wide and beginning to form emotions, and she reached out, gently tracing her fingers over the back of her daughter's hand, sending soothing, calming emotions through the tenuous telepathic link. As usual, it helped balance Spock's budding fear, and the little face returned to it's calm, neutral expression.

"That is most unfortunate, Mother."

"Indeed," Amanda agreed, resisting a proud smile threatening to burst across her face.

"You seem saddened, Mother," the girl raised her hand to indicate the gentle kiss placed there, and Amanda brushed back a stray strand of pitch black hair framing her daughter's oval face.

"An old friend of mine died defending Earth. I knew him and his wife well."

"I have witnessed you making condolence calls to '_old friends'_when ones dear to them die. Will that be the case this time as well, Mother?"

"I-" the sudden ringing of Amanda's communicator interrupted them, and Sarek's voice filled the air around them.

"_Amanda."_

"Sarek. Have you heard what happened over Earth?"

"_Indeed. A Romulan ship emerged from what appeared to be an electrical storm outside of the Earth's atmosphere. There were several casualties, but a young Star Fleet officer gave his life in ensuring their capture," _there was a pause, and Amanda could sense a gentle tension at the other end of her bond, _"The Romulans claim to be acting apart from the Romulan Empire. The first officer of the _Narada _insists on getting information on a Vulcan ambassador."_

There was a silent beat as Amanda pondered over the new information, then a strange emotion that Spock couldn't place crossed her face.

"Do you have to leave for Earth?"

A tiny, half beat before, _"Affirmative."_

Amanda sighed softly, almost imperceptibly, before glancing at her daughter, "Sarek? I'm going to make an illogical request."

The pause on the other end of the line would have seemed amused to a human, _"If you are requesting to join me, I must inform you such a request would not be illogical, rather, it would simply be mildly difficult."_

Amanda didn't fight the smile that spread across her face, and Spock felt a conflicting surge of happiness and shame rise inside her; she quickly suppressed the emotions again, disappointed that she couldn't master and eliminate the human emotions the way that full-blooded Vulcans were able to.

"Spock could continue her studies while we are gone?"

"_I have made the necessary requests and adjustments."_

The smile didn't leave Amanda's face as Spock calmly regarded her, "You know me too well, Sarek."

"_As your bond-mate, I retain the right to do so."_

"Thank you."

"_Thanks are-"_

"Sarek," a mildly playful tone laced Amanda's voice.

"_...We shall depart in the morning. Will this allow you the proper amount of time to prepare for the voyage?"_

"Yes, quite," the smile had left her mother's face, but there was still a gentle warmth as she placed her fingers on the back of Spock's hand, "Until I see you again."

"_Until I see you again."_

Spock's gaze flickered from the communicator to her mother as the gentle love that filled the older woman stroked gently at her calm, empty heart. Somehow it was easier to keep her own emotions in check with someone's emotions pouring into her.

"Spock, dear," Amanda turned her gaze to her daughter, "I believe we are going to Earth."

* * *

o...o...o

"Why did you leave your home world to marry Father?"

Amanda glanced down from the viewing window of the Suurok class starship taking them to Earth, her light brown eyes meeting her daughter's darker ones. A wary eye was sent down both sides of the corridor to avoid being overheard by judging ears(pointed, judging ears) before she answered, "There is a saying on Earth: _Home is where the Heart is._ I know, it seems illogical as the human heart is in our chests, but the heart, to humans, represents our purest, most noble emotions. And if our purest emotions are directed to a person, no matter where you are, you are home with them. To me, that was your father."

"You have used the past tense."

Amanda allowed herself a soft smile, as she knelt down to her daughter's level, brushing back the short, straight black hair, taking in the up-swept eyebrows, pointed ears, and green tint on her daughter's face, falling in love with her baby girl all over again, "Well, you see, it's not just your father anymore. It's you as well."

The girl's expression flickered slightly, a hint of reciprocated warmth passing over her face before she was blank again, "I find I don't understand. I would not leave Vulcan for a human, nor do I believe I would have left Earth should I have been in your situation."

Amanda smiled, her voice lowering to a soft, barely audible whisper, "You will understand someday. Or I hope so...I'm sure you can fully embrace Vulcan and still find someone to love that way. Look at your father. And even if you don't...when you have a child, you will understand. I have never felt a greater love than the one I hold for you. I would traverse the universe and settle in the farthest, most isolated corner if that would make you happy."

The soft clicking of Vulcan boots down the hallway distracted them before Spock could form an acceptable answer. The girl felt irrationally grateful, knowing that her mother's emotions would lead her to desire an answer from her, and she felt she had no way to return the warm words given to her.

She couldn't tell her mother she loved her.

Sarek approached them, and Amanda straightened, "We will be arriving at Earth in approximately 21.32 minutes. We shall be transported down to the Star Fleet Headquarters. We will arrive in time to participate in the ceremony honoring the deceased officers, one of whom I believe was an acquaintance of yours before you left Earth for Vulcan."

Amanda nodded, placing a light hand on her daughter's back, "Thank you for taking us with you this time."

"Many years have passed since you departed from Earth. A visit would not seem out of order," there was a gentle tone to Sarek's voice as he half turned, indicating for them to follow.

* * *

o...o...o

Spock hadn't expected the atmosphere change. Vulcan was warm, light, with a hint of a metallic scent in the air; Earth made her feel light, as if she might drift away if she wasn't careful(an illogical analogy, but fitting) and yet the air felt heavy, and was a strange mixture of sweet and salty, filling her lungs and chilling her slightly with it's cool touch.

Amanda carefully guided her husband and daughter between grieving family members of the people who died, coming to a stop behind a chair with a woman who sat ram-rod straight with a posture to put a Vulcan to shame, her wavy blonde hair pulled back into a messy bun.

"Winnona."

The woman spun around, a lost, helpless look on her face for a moment before a flicker of surprise and gratitude filtered onto her face.

A soft, sad laugh escaped her mouth, "Amanda. You sneaky thing, you're picking up on those annoying Vulcan traits we used to gripe about with George..."

The woman took a deep breath, fighting a tidal wave of emotions as Sarek impassively stared at the podium in the auditorium and Spock fought the incredible urge to squirm uncomfortably at the passionate emotions on the faces of the people around her. It was too much, she wasn't used to such unchecked emotions and she felt increasingly uneasy.

Amanda knelt down next to her old friend, taking both of the grieving woman's hands in her own as tears fought their way into her own eyes; she didn't speak, merely lent her old friend a shoulder to lean on, and Winnona sniffled, taking a deep breath and regaining her calm.

Glancing to the side, she noticed Spock, which only made the girl want to squirm even more, "Is this your daughter?"

Amanda nodded, "Yes. Her name is Spock. Where are your boys?"

Winnona glanced towards a door, "Frank is taking them to the men's room."

"Your brother left Riverside?"

A chuckle escaped the woman's lips as she nodded, "I could hardly believe it myself, but...yeah..."

She glanced at Sarek and Spock again, and stood, moving further down her line of chairs, "I'm glad you came. You and your family can sit with us..."

Sarek sat on the outer edge, with Spock sandwiched between him and Amanda, insulated as best as possible from the emotional humans around them. Spock found herself minutely closer to her father in her seat than her mother, taking an illogical comfort in his stoic, blank face. Normally, he only inspired a deep respect and a fear of disappointing him; Mother inspired comfort and ease.

The ceremony started just as a man wove his way between chairs with a child in his arms and a tall young boy behind him, settling himself down with the boy sandwiched between himself and Winnona. The child climbed onto his mother's lap, a multicolored cube clutched to his chest. Spock found herself moving just a little bit closer to her father, some part of her disappointed at the fact that she could _feel _uncomfortable still. Her father spared her a glance as a man began to speak, heavy tones of sadness and weariness in his voice, and the girl quickly schooled her emotions into nonexistence. She redirected her gaze to the man speaking, the English moving too fast, then too slow for her to understand.

Time droned on, and people around her sobbed, their tumultuous emotions rolling off her back effortlessly now, any sense of unease erased just by her father's calm demeanor. It was easier, here, to be Vulcan. Emotionless.

As she began to mentally recite the lessons she had learned at the Academy, she felt a sudden burning in the tips of her ears, and an unusual sensation creeping up her neck. She tried to ignore it, but the strange sensation continued until she redirected her gaze to her right. The child was staring at her, his wide blue eyes fixated upon her with a curious expression; she noticed that the whites of his eyes were shot with red, much like the rest of the humans around her, but unlike her impassioned attitude towards them, she felt a tugging of sympathy for the younger child.

Since arriving on Earth, many people had stared at her, making her ill at ease (though they wouldn't have seen it, unlike her Vulcan peers. To the humans, she was as blank faced and emotionless as any other Vulcan), yet this boy didn't cause her to feel uneasy. Fascinating.

He waved, some of his fingers half curved inwards from holding the cube so tightly, and Spock felt a twitch at the corner of her lips, which didn't register until a moment later, as a wave of dismay overcame her.

She had nearly smiled.

Spock discreetly glanced at her father, some relief filling her at the fact that he hadn't caught on her mistake, and she suppressed her emotions once more.

* * *

o...o...o

Sarek was to stay on Earth for nearly a month to help stabilize diplomatic affairs and assist in the investigations conducted as to how a starship as massive as the Narada could have materialized the way it had.

Amanda and Spock would have to return to Vulcan sooner. The maximum amount of time that Spock could spend away from the Vulcan Children's Academy was an Earth week.

Spock spent the majority of her time shadowing her father every moment he could spare for her, bringing him assignment after assignment to go over under his guidance. But as ambassador and the man the Romulans were supposedly looking for, his time for her was sparse and often he was distracted during their sessions.

"Spock," Amanda's tender voice filled the room, and Spock looked up, eyes slightly dull from lack of mentally stimulating things to do.

"Yes, mother?"

"I am going to visit Winnona. Would you care to come along?" Amanda was only asking as a courtesy; she wouldn't leave her daughter alone in their quarters without either of her parents. Spock fought an urge to sigh(a very _human_ quirk that was rather infectious) and simply shook her head.

"I would not care for it, but I can see that there is no other option; therefore, I will come along without complaint, Mother."

Her mother held out her hand, and Spock readily took it, glad for the stabilizing calm that her mother carried.

Winnona was a beautiful young woman, and Spock wondered why Vulcans hadn't developed as many diverse races as humans had. This woman's blonde hair and blue eyes were fascinating, as were the narrow eyelids of the Asians, the dark, deep brown skin and tight curls of the Africans and their descendants, the red, black, brown and blonde hair and fair skin of the Caucasians.

Speaking of blond and fair skinned.

Spock sat uncomfortably in the Terran living room, her eyes dancing from object to object, a sense of curiosity arising in her when she spotted a shelf full of books. Actual books, made of paper and ink and a couple even had leather covers.

Winnona sat in the kitchen behind her, sniffling quietly over a cup of coffee, which her mother had eagerly helped her make, saying, "It's been so long since I've been able to smell coffee grounds! I must warn you, Winnona, I'm very tempted to make off with this jar you have here."

Which elicited a smile from Winnona, despite the sorrow clearly etched in her face.

Once again, Spock felt ill at ease. She know felt more compelled than ever to choose the Vulcan way, yearning for that serenity her father had once promised her that logic would bring. Human emotions seemed very...uncomfortable. Painful even. And if-

"Hello."

The little voice jarred her out of her thoughts, (a little too easily, she thought to herself) and she turned to find the child who had waved at her from Winnona's lap.

"Greetings," she answered, tilting her head in acknowledgment to the younger child, who beamed at her with a wide smile and scrunched up his big blue eyes, a single tooth missing from his mouth. Spock felt an illogical sense of satisfaction at his momentary glee.

"I'm Jim. Who are you?" the boy jumped onto the couch, causing Spock to bounce and flounder for a moment as he unbalanced her. After a moment of surprise, she composed herself.

"I am Spock, daughter of Sarek and Amanda," she responded cordially, as he crossed his legs and sat sideways to be able to look straight at her, his hair messy and long, hanging into his eyes.

"That's a_ big_ name. Mine is big too, though, but not as big as yours. James Tiberius Kirk. I was named after my grandpas," the bright expression suddenly dampened and his position slouched a bit, "My daddy chose my name..."

A strange, and sudden sympathy filled Spock, and she looked away from the boy, a saddened gleam in her eyes.

"Your father was a hero," she attempted to reassure the boy, "He died honorably..."

The boy – Jim, simply sniffled and rubbed his eyes, before returning to his former line of inquiry.

"How ol' are you?"

"6.9 of your – Six years old," she amended her statement, deciding that it would be unwise to lead the boy to ask about the difference of Vulcan and Earth years, as he was both human, and younger than herself and would have difficulty understanding her answer.

"I'm four. Gonna be five, and then Sammy – that's my brother – he said he was gonna give me something special on my birthday. He never gives me stuff," Jim smiled again, scooting closer to her, "You have very pretty hair."

Spock flushed, turning to look at the boy as he gave her a strange smile, his eyes glossed over; she wasn't certain how to respond to a compliment. Vulcans didn't compliment one another. They commended one for a job well done, but compliments were not commonplace.

"I...you have...fascinating hair as well," she responded, glancing over the couch to her mother as she gave comfort to Winnona. Unreachable.

Jim giggled, and Spock felt pleased, despite not knowing why he was laughing in the first place, nor why he had complimented her.

"You're funny."

"I was merely returning the compliment..."

Jim giggled again, his blue eyes flashing brightly, "An' you talk like you're all grown up."

He scooted closer to her again, and she didn't move away, despite some logical part of her saying that he was within inches of touching her, which was unacceptable by Vulcan standards.

"Can I show you something?"

"...Is it in the immediate vicinity?"

Jim blinked, his head tilting to the side in confusion, "Huh?"

Spock squirmed slightly in her seat, "Is it...What is it you wish to show me?"

Jim's round face broke into another wide smile, "It's a surprise."

After another moment of internal debate, curiosity won out, and she nodded.

"Mother, Winnona's child Jim wishes to show me something. May I go with him?"

Amanda glanced over to them, then at Winnona, who shrugged, "It's up to you. Jim's not allowed off the property, or past the fence..."

Brown eyes turned back to the two children on the couch, and after a moment, Amanda spared them a smile and nodded, "You may, Spock. Jim, don't you go getting my daughter lost, alright?"

Jim beamed at her, nodding vigorously, "Yes ma'am, Lady 'Manda. Come, Spock!"

The boy bounced off of the couch, and Spock followed him as he lead her outside the house, into the sunlight of the setting Earth sun, which was surprisingly mild compared to Vulcan's sunlight. As he skipped down the stairs of the porch, he looked back at her as she took careful steps down.

"You're a little slow, you know that? That's okay, I'll just help you a little," he held out his little hand, which she merely blinked at, not knowing what he expected of her. She had nothing to give him.

At her hesitance, he reached out swiftly, grabbing her hand before she had time to protest, and pulled her along.

Immediately she was flooded and engulfed by a brightness, a warmth and caring that she had only experienced in tender moments with her mother, moments she was embarrassed of; and a sharp, aching sadness that was laced through it, yet it didn't overwhelm it. A sense of being lost, yet exactly where one belonged; and an undercurrent of intelligence that surprised her. Whispers of thoughts and ideas traced against her own and had Jim not been pulling her along, she would have been frozen to the spot.

After the first moment of shock at the intensity of the emotions coursing through their hands, at the warmth and brightness, a green blush suddenly spread across her cheeks; hand holding was an intimate action normally reserved only for family members, and it was rarely, if ever, done in public...although, she noted, the area around the house seemed to stretch for miles, and only one other house was visible from this point. Still, it surprised her that she felt no urge to pull away from the younger boy's grasp.

Jim pulled her around the side of the house, and he let go of her hand to climb onto what seemed to be a heap of rubble, broken wooden planks and an old fridge littered among the pieces of scrap metal. Spock stumbled for a moment, reeling from the loss of Jim's brightness and the touch of his thoughts, before gathering herself and following the boy onto the scrap heap.

"I must admit, Jim, I expected something different than refuse..."

"Huh?" Jim turned to look at her, her words a little too far outside of his vocabulary, "We just hafta make it to the window."

Spock then noticed the small window, boarded over, that was just above the rubble. It was at just the right place that if one would climb the planks like a ladder, they could climb onto the roof.

Jim promptly did just that, reaching down and trying to help her by pulling her up, even though she was perfectly capable of doing it on her own, despite her long Vulcan robes. Once she reached the top, he grinned, and grabbed her hand again.

She was prepared this time for his influx of emotions, and wasn't as flustered by it.

"You need to be careful. It's slippery sometimes," he carefully lead them around to the other side of the house, "I would-a taken you through my room, but it's a mess and Daddy doesn't like for people to see my room all messy like."

"There is a psychological benefit for children to be in charge of their own quarters; a tidy room is also more hygienic," Jim sat down, and let go of her hand, patting the rooftop beside him.

"I don't know what you said, but it sounds funny," he giggled. Spock blushed again, not exactly certain why.

"What is it you wished to show me, Jim?"

He grinned again, blue eyes sparkling, and Spock found herself responding, a soft smile tugging on the corners of her lips.

"Close your eyes."

She didn't ask why.

"Open 'em in one...two...three," he patted her leg and she opened her eyes, suddenly finding Jim bathed in golden sunlight. Mesmerized by the golden light making his hair glint and his eyes suddenly seem brown, she let out a soft, small sigh of...satisfaction? Fascinating.

"Don't look at me, look at the sunset," he pointed towards the sun, and she reluctantly obeyed, finding the sun, seemingly swollen and huge compared to before, lighting up the golden field before them, the few stray clouds in the sky bathed in purple and pink, the sky bright and blue, fading to a darker, deeper blue. The sun slowly slipped past the horizon, and Spock turned her gaze back to the young boy sitting on the rooftop with her, his small face sad and quiet as he stared at the sunset. She felt disquieted at his sadness, and after a moment of debate, placed her hand over his, turning her gaze back to the sunset as she carefully projected calm, peace and love into him; the exact same thing her mother did when soothing her insecurities and emotions.

The boy seemed surprised at it, but he was young. He thought very little of it and was simply content again.

"You did this with your father?" she asked. She had little instruction on touch telepathy, and she could only pick up on basic feelings and a fractures of thoughts, but she could understand the surprisingly deep sense of sorrow he carried. It surprised her that she picked up on and understood much of his feelings without having had any previous experience with most of them.

A beat passed as Jim's little face was lit up by sunlight for a final moment before the sunlight dimmed, "Yeah...we watch the sunset and then we watch the cons'lations. I know almost all of them that he taught me."

"That is...pleasing," she murmured as the sun vanished, feeling warm, calm and.._.happy_. How strange. How fascinating.

"Mhmm. Sammy knows them too, and we all sit and watch the stars when the clouds are gone and Daddy is home. But not since he left to heaven..."

"Vulcans have no concept of heaven; at least, not the paradise described by Mother..."

She stared up at the sky, unfamiliar with any of the constellations above her. She knew the constellations of her home world very well, knew how the night sky changed as the planet shifted in it's orbit around the Vulcan sun.

"You're very pretty," Jim suddenly spoke up, interrupting her train of thought. She turned, and found Jim's blue eyes locked onto her intensely.

"You are aesthetically pleasing as well...my friend..."

Jim's smile sent a wave of satisfaction through her as his jumble of excitement rolled through their joined hands.

"I think you said something nice about me. A'gain."

"Indeed."

* * *

o...o...o

The next three days were a blur of requesting to be taken back to Winnona's dwelling and spending her time following Jim throughout the fields and the barn, listening to his stories about his father or his brother, and telling him about Vulcan. He asked her if she had any friends, which she responded to by explaining that Vulcans rarely had 'friends'.

"But you called me your friend," he tilted his head again, curious.

She paused, suddenly confused. She had called him her friend, but she wasn't sure why; at the time, she hardly knew him, unlike now. She didn't know then how he loved the stars, or how he was allergic to all sorts of medicine, which meant he had to go through colds and flues the hard way, or how intelligent he was compared to what she had heard of human children at this age. It had simply seemed right, as though he was always meant to be her friend.

"Indeed. You _are_ my friend Jim."

He had beamed at her again, and she felt pleased despite not knowing why he was so happy to be her friend.

On the last day, she reached for his hand once they were out of view of their mothers, intertwining their fingers as he lead her to the bright red car that sat inside, and as they sat in the white seats, legs swinging, she informed him gravely, "I will be returning home soon, Jim."

Jim grinned, "Can you take me with you? Vulcan sounds so cool. And I wanna see your seh-laht, I-Chaya!"

"No, Jim. I do not believe you can come," she felt his emotions sink, and sent him a soothing calm before continuing, "And I do not believe I will be returning any time soon."

"Why can't I come? Did I do something wrong?"

"No..."

Her attempt to calm him failed, and she could feel an almost hysterical fear suddenly jolt through him before he yanked his hand out of hers.

"You're gonna go back in outer space! Like Daddy always did!"

"I am going back home, Jim. I must continue my studies," Spock felt helpless as he curled up, refusing her hand.

"What if space people come and hurt you and send you to heaven too?"

"As Vulcans have no concept of heav-...Jim, the probability of an enemy attacking my ship is very low. I will be safe."

Jim simply turned away from her, and she sat primly in her chair, uncertain of what to say to reassure him. Any empty promises would only result in his heartbreak, and Vulcan's didn't lie.

"You told me that you wanted to be like your father."

Silence answered her, and she squirmed, "Your father was brave."

"Don't talk about Daddy!"

The voice was harsh, and angry, and Spock found herself feeling hurt...Quickly, she steeled herself with the logic of Vulcan, something she hadn't used with Jim since the first day.

"I am leaving, Jim," it was strange how easy it was to slip back into the monotone voice she normally used, which was different to the softer voice she used with Mother and Jim, "I have no choice in the matter. I apologize if this is unpleasant for you, but a child must do what their parents ask of them."

Jim turned, blue eyes downcast, and murmured, "Your parents won't let you stay with me?"

"No."

He looked up at her then, blue eyes teary, and then launched himself onto her, hugging her and knocking her onto her back on the seat.

"I'm gonna miss you."

Spock squirmed, uncomfortable under his weight, and awkwardly tried to return to gesture, wrapping her arms around the smaller boy.

"I shall...miss you as well," she whispered, as his cheek pressed against her ear, a sadness filling her as she sat up with him in her arms, "My friend."

After a moment, Jim planted a wet kiss on her cheek, let her go and blushed, "Don't tell Sam."

Although she didn't understand the strange request, she nodded, as she rubbed his saliva off her cheek with the hem of her sleeve.

As Amanda bid her final farewells to Winnona and Frank, Jim ran away before Spock could speak. Some part of her felt sad, but logically speaking, they had already said their goodbyes in the car. She stepped off of the porch where Winnona was sobbing onto Amanda's shoulder, and stared at the house that was home to her only friend. Where it had once seemed alien and strange, it now seemed warm, and perhaps a little sad. After a moment, she chastised herself for applying emotion to an inanimate obj-

The air was knocked out of her as Jim flew into her arms again, his blond head tucked into her chest, and something hard and flat was pressed into her back.

"You won't forget me, right?"

"Of course not, Jim," she responded, keeping a straight face since her mother could see her...not that she would look in her direction as she was busy giving Winnona last minute advice and support.

Jim let go, then held up the multicolored cube he had played with the day she had first seen him. He had later explained that it was called a _Rubik's Cube _and that the purpose of it was to get all sides with a single solid color in the proper order. She had been fascinated, and he had quickly discovered that she was much better at it than him.

"Here. Just to make sure you don't ever forget me."

Spock fought the smile tugging at her lips. Humans and their insecurities.

"I promise you, Jim, I will never forget you. Vulcan memories are much better than human's."

"Okay."

"What about you, Jim? Will you remember me?"

Jim nodded, blue eyes solemn for once, "Of course, Spock. Always."

She nodded, satisfied. Then, on impulse, she leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek as he had on hers. He jumped back with a squeal, blue eyes wide with shock as he pointed to the porch and hastily rubbed the kiss off, "Spock, Sam will see!"

Spock felt surprisingly pleased with herself.

* * *

**I forgot to mention I'm alternating chapters, one has the Fem-Spock Universe(Or, Universe 25), the next will be Fem-Kirk(Universe 27)(Weird numbers cause I can. :P I know it's not professional)**

**ALSO, I practically begged for a beta on 'Home to Us', and I will do it again. PLEASE, if you are a beta and are interested, PM ME. :P XD**

**REVIEW, LITTLE PEOPLE. ^^ Or else no chocolate bunnies. (kudos to the person who gets that XD)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, sheep. ^^ Or would you rather be wolves? Meh, it doesn't matter. XD Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the last chapter(And REVIEWED. You reviewed right? O_O) As for this chapter, I have to point out that it comes later on in the story(as you can see by the Stardate((which, btw, is a confusing way of measuring time)(for my tiny brain, anyway)))**

**I'm not very proud of this chapter, or at least the end of it. Also, I'm noting that in both universes, I'm spending way too much time focused on the girls. I need to get M-Spock and Jim's POVs a little more. Also, I'm trying to show the places where Mr. Spock and Ms. Spock veered away from certain important events in the others lives, which will change their characters personalities a bit. I'm not going to say how, but, if I'm showing these points of divergence properly, let me know, and if I'm not, point it out, because I need to be able to see these things to fix them.**

**ANYWAY, On with the Story! ^^**

* * *

**Universe 27**

**STARDATE 2243.09.**

"WHHOOOOOOO!"

The rippling shout tore across the flat, dry farmlands of Iowa as a bright red streak burst out onto the road at breakneck speed, nearly spiraling out of control as the car propelled itself forward.

Long blonde hair flew wild, tangled and free as a girl, a sturdy, strong girl with wild, dangerous blue eyes grinned with fear, excitement and anger, sitting behind the wheel of the ancient car, barely big enough to see over the steering wheel. Glancing behind her, she caught sight of a bewildered man running out of the driveway onto the road, standing there staring dumbly at the shrinking car as it speed away from him.

"_Hah!_ You didn't see that one coming, did ya Uncle Frank!" she shouted, but it was lost to the wind whistling. Reaching up, she unlocked the convertible roof, only to have it ripped off because of the speed she was driving at. For a moment, she was shocked, but then she shrugged, and raised an arm to let it get caught in the whipping wind surrounding her.

Something as wild and insane as she felt inside. She reached out, set the radio on, found a song as wild and strong and chaotic as she felt, and it was a relief.

"_YEEAAAAHHHH!_" she screamed, the pressure and anger weighing on her chest flying with the wind, riding on her voice.

She sped by a lone figure sticking his thumb out for a ride, and she twisted in her seat, waving back to him, "_HEY, Johnny!"_

She laughed wildly at the sudden look of shock on the boy's face, even as he was passed by a cop on a hover bike. The grin fell though, as he pulled up beside her, turning his masked face to her.

"_Citizen. Pull your vehicle over to the side of the road."_

"I can't hear you!" she turned the music up, before slamming her feet on the brake as she spun off the road, the wild look on her face gone and replaced by an intense stare as she maneuvered herself ahead of the cop, driving straight through the gate to the stone quarry.

This was where she had been headed. The elation, the release that the wild joy ride had given her faded as the wide canyon ahead of her neared, replaced by dread. The red car ate up the distance faster than she would have liked; she imagined falling with the car, feeling as the impulse sent the car flying across the empty space, even as it lost traction, as it became light, weightless beneath her, as she became weightless, for just a split second- Then falling, pulled, rejected by the sky, falling, crashing, being crushed, pain exploding, ribs cracking, bones splintering, fire engulfing her...And then nothing. That wasn't so terrifying, was it?

What would Mom do? She'd cry, and self-destruct, the second to last tether holding her together exploded in a fiery blaze of nothing.

What about Sam? He'd resent her for destroying Mom, and resent Mom for loving her so much. He'd be just as broken, but he'd heal. He'd live again.

What would happen to Uncle Frank? He'd finally be alone, and because she freakin' launched herself across a canyon in her father's car to keep him from selling it.

What about her? What about Jamie?

...It would stop hurting so much, everyday of her life, this empty charade of pretending to be happy, pretending she was fine with being left behind every year. Maybe Uncle Frank would finally be sorry for being such a jerk, maybe he'd drown in guilt for causing her to do this, maybe Sam would feel sorry for leaving her behind...

Maybe she'd even meet her dad in whatever after-life there was.

"_**NO!"**_ the shout was ripped from her throat as if by an outside force as she slammed the brake, shifting gears and twisting the steering wheel all in one smooth motion, causing the car to skid and turn violently as it began to fall off the cliff. She sprung out of the car as it fell, just barely landing on the ground and skidding backwards towards the cliff from the impulse of the car. She grunted as her legs slid off the edge, her torso beginning to follow before she managed to grab the edge and hold on.

Her father had died to save her and 800 other people, and damn it all if she and her mother weren't the only thing on his mind when he died. She might not have been the most respectful of people, but she knew better than to take such a selfless sacrifice and practically turn around and say, "_Screw you, I'm going to die uselessly now anyway because I think it's all too freaking hard."_

How _hard_ would it have been to know that your kids and your wife were going to have to learn to live without you there to love them, or protect them? Damn it all if she turned into a coward now and took the easy way out instead of bravely facing the hand dealt to her the way her father had.

Panting, she crawled her way back on, coming to a shaky stand as the Cop climbed off his bike. He stared at her for a moment, awed, she liked to think, before speaking.

"What is your name, citizen?"

The blonde girl panted, blue eyes bright as she straightened up, her hands on her hips, "My name is Kirk. James Tiberius Kirk."

The cop was unimpressed.

* * *

o...o...o...o

A gentle hand discretely traced over the back of his own, a gentle kiss to soothe the shame and pain in the boy's heart that he desperately tried to work into nonexistence with the safety of logic. His mother sighed, gently transmitting love and calm through her fingertips as best as a psi-null could, but even then the child could feel the undercurrent of anger and frustration that was aimed at the planet of Vulcan at large, and a fleeting, dull homesickness that disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

Despite the other emotions, the love and peacefulness his mother offered him helped, and the emotions that had gotten him into this trouble vanished, leaving only the cool, strict lines of logic.

This was the second time that his peers had elicited an emotional reaction from him in response to unjustified critical remarks about his mother and father. The first had occurred in his first year of education outside of the safe confines of her home; he hadn't expected such harsh criticism towards his mother, and had locked himself into a vehicle to cry and illogically refused to come out until his father retrieved him. That had been excused; but he had recognized a sort of pity and annoyance in his instructor's eyes directed towards him afterward. It had relieved him when the instructor had been replaced, albeit by a slightly less experienced one.

This time, the boys that were his peers had resumed launching insults about his mother; the one that had driven him to violence (for the first time in his life) had been a particularly stinging one claiming that his father had betrayed Vulcan by marrying Amanda.

His hands involuntary clenched on his legs, and he knew that his mother had noticed. There was nothing about his mother that was shameful, other than a few more obvious emotions that she only showed in private. In public, Amanda Grayson was as proper and logical as any proud Vulcan woman; Sarek's mother, T'Pau taught her well.

His mother rose as Sarek exited the room where he had just been fully informed of the event by both the witnesses and the instructors, and Spock felt the loss of her presence strongly for a moment before he returned to a neutral state of being.

"What did they say?" she whispered, hoping to elude her son's keen Vulcan hearing, but she would need to move 3.6 feet further away for that to be effective.

Sarek's face was impassive, blank as only a true Vulcan could display, "Such a display of emotions at this age would not normally go unpunished. However, the professors have decided to excuse this one time, granted it does not happen again."

"What about the children who provoked him?"

"As Spock was the one to attack them, the professors see no reason to pursue punishment beyond a verbal reprimand."

Amanda scoffed softly, sending a glance down the deserted hallway before turning back to her husband, "They provoke our son to_ violence_, and they get off with a simple _scolding_?"

"Do they require more than that? Our son has 'gotten off' with a reprimand as well, and yet you do not seem upset, despite the fact that his emotional reaction was far more injurious to both himself and the other children."

"They shoved him. Where I come from, when someone hits you, you hit back. How is that not logical?" Spock glanced over at them, slightly ruffled that they were arguing over _his _mistake.

"Spock had no reasonable expectation of being physically injured-"

"They pick on him, tease him, make fun of him everyday-"

"Which is precisely why reason must guide his actions above all," traces of exasperation were leaking out into Sarek's expression, faint and barely perceivable.

Amanda sighed, resting her forehead into her hand for a moment, "You know I want him to embrace Vulcan, I do...But he has to be himself as well. Which will occasionally mean being _human_."

Sarek's left eyebrow rose, "Curious, since his 'humanity' is the very source of his ostracism."

A flicker of pre-Vulcan Amanda burst across her expression, hurt and anger and indignation flying across her face for a moment before she settled on a mildly annoyed expression, hiding the hurt and betrayal lying below.

"When Vulcans get disgusted with each other, do they ever just walk away?" a vindictive edge lay on her voice as her delicate expression turned to a thinly disguised glare.

Sarek noticed, and he seemed to pause indecisively, "No..."

"Well humans do," she spun on her heel, and walked off with decisive, harsh steps. Spock's gaze followed her as she walked past, feeling lost and helpless at being left alone with his father.

Sarek turned towards him, and he stiffened in his seat. He was not afraid of his father for fear of reprimand, nor because he was unkind, but for fear of disappointing him, for fear that something he might say or do would cause a negative opinion to be formed of him. With Mother, he had no such fears. She readily accepted whatever he said or chose to do without judgment nor disappointment. For this, he was sorry he had caused a rift in her relationship with his father.

As Sarek stepped closer, he nervously voiced this, "I did not mean to cause conflict between you and Mother..."

His father seemed to pause for a moment, before taking a seat next to him, trying to reassure him as best he could, "In marriage...conflict is..."

"Constant?" the boy titled his head slightly, gaining a better view of his father's face.

"Natural," Sarek corrected, shifting in his seat to gain a more comfortable position to talk from, "...Emotions run deep within our race. In some ways, more deeply than in humans...Long ago, they nearly destroyed us; which is why we followed the teachings of Surak."

The boy looked up at his father directly now, eyes glittering with barely subdued emotions as Sarek continued.

"Now you must choose."

The boy's gaze flickered, and a hint of apprehension tinted his voice, "Between you and Mother?"

"Never, my son. But you may choose the ethics of logic. Logic offers a serenity that humans seldom experience; The control of feelings, so that they do not control you."

Spock looked away now, locking his gaze on the floor as he contemplated the words, finding himself at odds. All his life, he had found logic binding and restrictive. He couldn't smile when the urge presented itself because he was betraying his_ feelings_, which no proper Vulcan did; he couldn't express anxiety, or fear, or love, for fear of being branded _human, _therefore inferior.

_You are neither Vulcan nor human and therefore have no place in this universe._

There was a twitch in his meager control, and he felt the helpless homelessness the words had stirred in him all over; the fact that the words had caused him such despair only made them seem more like fact than a baseless accusation. And yet...the loss of his control had frightened him, the maddening, tearing rage and desperation that had driven him to pound his fist into the other boy's face over and over and over was awful, and left him feeling no better. There was no relief, no smug happiness at seeing his peer's face green and black and bloody, nothing. In fact, it had left him with some remorse, since now they had succeeded and elicited an emotional response from him, proving the fact that they so callously shoved into his face everyday.

_You have no place in this universe._

"They called you a traitor..." he spoke, carefully watching his father's reaction, "...You suggest I be completely Vulcan, and yet you married a human...Why?"

Sarek's expression flickered, and he was slightly surprised to see a hint of conflict on his father's normally stoic face.

"As Ambassador to Earth, it is my duty to study and understand human behavior. Marrying your mother was...logical."

Mother would be hurt if she heard that, Spock thought. Maybe even to the point of those tears she always tried so desperately to hide from him. It hurt _him_, to hear that his mother was little more than a specimen to his father; Even having been raised on Vulcan, surrounded by logic and little else, Spock knew his mother deserved better. Needed better, for the sacrifice of her home world and all the people she knew and cherished, for the abandonment of her right to freely express her tumultuous emotions as she was used to, to come over to hot, impassive Vulcan with it's binding traditions and disapproval of all things emotional, to have a son she couldn't hug and tease and laugh with or openly love, just for his father, who only saw her as _logical._

His father seemed to sense this disquiet within him, and tried again, "Spock. You are fully capable of choosing your own destiny. The question you are faced with is which path you will take. This is something only you can decide."

All things considered, his mother's emotions had gotten her to where she was. To a people that didn't accept her, on a world completely alien to her own, loving a man who didn't – couldn't - love her back. As far as he knew, there had been no logical reason for her to love or marry Sarek, and yet she did these things anyway, receiving coldness in return for her fiery, loving soul.

Emotions.

Logic.

His father stood apart; the biting words that were whispered along the halls about his wife and his child never phasing or disturbing him. He had no emotions; he couldn't be hurt. He didn't love his wife, why should the senseless, untrue rumors about her lying with other men hurt? What was there to hurt?

Spock gingerly reached up to his split lip. What was there to hurt?

* * *

o...o...o...o...o...o

Jamie may not have been a very sensitive person, but she was fully aware when lines that shouldn't have been crossed were crossed. She had crossed a line, destroying the car the way she had, and she fully expected to be grounded forever. Or a long time, anyway.

What she hadn't expected, however, was her mother to burst into laughter once she heard the story. Yes, Jamie got the tongue lashing of the century from her mother, and yes, she was still grounded, but that one moment as Uncle Frank was shouting in a rage about the car and her mother suddenly bent over in laughter almost made it worth it.

….Almost.

As Uncle Frank practically trashed the house looking for her in his drunken state, she sat glumly on the roof above her window, staring at the stars without her usual excitement. As she had expected, the weeks she had spent cooped up with Uncle Frank only served to foul his mood even worse, and she began to respond, lashing out loudly and petulantly; which of course, only made his mood even worse. They were like a ticking time bomb, just waiting for the right moment for it to all go to-

"_Girl! Get your ass outta that hiding place o' yours this minute or I'll give you the ass whooping of your sorry little life!"_

Jamie glowered and ignored his shouting, playing with the Rubik's cube in her hands, expertly twirling the worn colors into their proper places as she glanced up at the sky. Word was that Star Fleet was setting up a new shipyard somewhere right here in Riverside; which meant a lot of shuttles were pouring in, carrying supplies from the canyon she had just crashed the Corvette into.

_Hello, Orion._

She smiled at the familiar constellation, quickly skimming the sky for the hunter's loyal companions. Somewhere far away, a dog started to howl, and she snickered at the convenient timing.

_Hello, hunt dogs._

Distantly, the sound of a large truck rumbling away along the road slowly filled the night air, as Jamie continued to find and greet the various constellations in the night sky, the chilly breeze whipping over her, pulling her long, dirty blonde air along for the ride as her foot tapped contentedly against the roof. Her blue eyes, deep and dark in the twilight, spotted a distant, red star; a planet spinning around it was currently being equipped for colonization, and she tried to imagine what that would be like. Not building the colony, but to be the planet; to be the heated, melted lava core, swirling in powerful magnetic and gravitational pulls; to be the tectonic plates, heavy and pressed tightly together, squished, and shattering, releasing, pushing, shoving, powerful; to be the water, swirling, rising, falling, pulled by the orbiting satellites or moons, liquid, moving, forever moving, freezing, evaporating, hot, hot, cold, warm, nurturing; to be the ground, washed away, piling up, held together by the roots of grass and trees and plants, feeling the nutrients sucked, pulled, eaten from you, leaving you barren, leaching back the food, the nutrients from the decaying matter above; She pulsated with power, energy, growth, death, water, heat, humming, churning, gigantic, small, powerful...quiet, spinning peacefully, slowly in orbit around the sun.

Jamie breathed slowly, the ocean currents moving in time with the air above them, her eyes flickering as she felt the weightlessness, drifting, feeling herself lift minutely above the roof as she clenched the boards to prevent herself from being pulled into the quiet, dark blackness of outer space, sun holding her in place, bathing her, giving her life.

_**Crash!**_

Shattering her vivid mental image with a jerk, Uncle Frank slammed the front door of the house open.

"Girl, I know you out d'ere some place! Don't think you're not getting in trouble fer ignoring me!"

Jamie sighed, kicking out her legs as a frown crossed her face. Great,_awesome._ One moment she was happy, the next:

"Once your mother is back on planet, you'll see!"

_Thanks, Uncle Frank, _she glowered darkly, throwing her arms out frustratedly, her little finger on her right hand smacking against something hard and plastic, which promptly rolled up the roof for a few inches before using the momentum to tumble down and sail off into the grass. Jamie gasped sharply, jerking up to her feet as she recognized it: her Rubik's cube.

She tensed, quietly scrambling across the roof to the front porch, carefully peeking down, spying Uncle Frank through one of the front windows, sulking in his chair in front of the TV, muttering about the howling dogs in the distance.

Reassured that he wouldn't find her, she quickly climbed down, the rumble of the distant truck(maybe it was a machine, trucks didn't normally take that long to travel down a road) covering any sound she might have made, crouching low to the ground and making her way to the grass, having to feel for the cube in the dark, the light from the house not reaching far enough.

A sudden light tremble in the ground beneath her froze her in place, a sharp intake of breath following as suddenly, the dogs and the rumbling truck took on a different meaning.

Earthquake.

She stood, fear suddenly gripping her as she felt a loss as to what to do. She was already outside, already-

_SKREEEEEEEEEeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-_

With a shriek, she clapped her hands over her ears as an earsplitting screech filled the air, the ground heaving mightily underneath her, tossing her onto the shaking, humming ground.

Humming...

The screech died down, and she struggled to her feet against the swaying of the ground, nauseated and terrified. She looked, and was shocked to find the house, the ground, the sky, glowing, a vibrant golden glow, a distinct, constant hum filling her ears, her head, her body-

Distantly, she heard Uncle Frank scream, but she was too terrified, too numb to react.

The ground swayed once more, knocking her flat on her back, head hitting the ground as her vision swam- Was that a boy falling off the roof?

A...glowing boy?

The boy landed hard on the ground next to her, gasping and wheezing as the air was knocked out of him, arching his back and turning onto his side.

He saw her, grimaced in pain, "Are you seeing this?!"

She nodded, her head swimming. The house glowed, parts of it splintering as new parts of it seemed to burst from within the frame.

"Oh my god," she whimpered, rolling onto her feet as the boy crawled up, head throbbing, "I think it's gonna explode!"

Without another word, they both turned tail and ran, bursting out the front gate and gasping as a truck whizzed by, loaded with people in the back.

"Wait!" the boy cried out, running out onto the road, a car slamming it's brakes and swerving to avoid crashing with him.

Jamie ran up to the back door, opening it and climbing in beside a terrified classmate without a word as the boy followed and scrambled in the other side.

"What the he-"

"Just go!" the boy shouted, interrupting the driver, who grunted, and decided he'd rather live than continue arguing.

"Sorry, Mr. Harrow," Jamie panted, glancing at her classmate, Brianna Harrow, a tall, thin girl with large brown eyes and good grades. The girl simply stared at the boy, who was still glowing, although much more dimly now, as he stared at her with growing fear.

Jamie ignored the two, leaning forward in her chair, pressing into Mrs. Harrow's space as she stared at the glowing ground in front of them, squinting as she could make out a point where the glow simply stopped, a mere five minutes in front of them.

"Brianna?" the boy, which Jamie now noticed was roughly her age, though a little smaller and thinner than her. Brianna shrunk away from the boy, as he did the same, "Brianna, the girl who drowned last year?"

All eyes suddenly turned to him, piercing, cold, fearful.

Brianna jerked away from him, eyes wide and terrified, "Wh-what? No! I-I didn't!"

"But I saw it happen! You-" the boy suddenly lit up brighter than the headlights on the car, and in a slow, surreal moment, fell _through _the car, as Brianna shrieked, Mr. Harrow shouted something incoherent as the car jerked and Jamie, somehow, through the absurdity of it all, noticed they had left the glow behind.

* * *

o...o...o...o

Uncle Frank was dead. Jamie sat in her house (was it her house?) stupefied, as a harried government agent tried to first evict her, then trying to contact her mother, who was in orbit over a distant planet being prepared for colonization, once it became evident that Jaime didn't have any other family still on earth.

The house hadn't exploded, nor had it collapsed; which left her frustrated, as she couldn't see any obvious reasons for Uncle Frank to just up and die. There wasn't any blood, yet the spot where he had dropped his beer can was still wet, no one had mopped it.

She stood, kicking his brown chair angrily, wiping furiously at the tears in her eyes. She hadn't liked Uncle Frank – it was hard to like someone who spent every waking hour telling you how useless and annoying you were – but she had spent the better part of nearly twelve years under his care; he was the one unchanging constant in her life, the one person who wouldn't disappear or leave, like Mom, or Aunt Jackie and her kids, or her brother. And he hadn't always been as much of a jerk as he had these last few years. The house felt empty without his loud, boisterous shouting or his snoring or knocking things around searching for clean clothes for work or another can of beer...

Whether she liked it or not, she had loved him, in a strange way. And this hurt.

Sniffling, she stormed up the stairs, finding her door appeared to have been _fused_ with another, one closed, the other slightly ajar. Her bed appeared mostly unchanged, but upon closer inspection the mattress had fused with a model starship that she had left lying on top.

Storming back down, she walked up to the agent in her house, who ignored her as he ran a scanner over the surface of everything, including a wall that hadn't been there before, with the coffee table fused straight through the middle.

"Hey, you."

The agent continued to ignore her, biting his lip and muttering to himself.

"Hey, _stupid_! What happened here?" she kicked his leg, which earned her a glare. The man turned, staring down at her from his considerable height, probably trying to intimidate her with that angle of his perfectly square jaw and chiseled nose as his eyes lidded slightly. Jamie huffed. Like that was going to work. Her uncle just died, her house was in shambles, AND she saw a person freaking fall through a solid object.

A single _human man_ wasn't about to faze her.

He finally sighed, beginning to list off words as if he were reciting the news, "A quarter of Riverside's population was decimated by an unprecedented earthquake-"

Jamie shook her head, blonde hair flying, "No. No. I was _here. _I saw this hap-This whole house, glowed, okay, and I know I am not crazy, because I have a car full of freaked out neighbors who will say the same thing. And don't say that the trauma has cause my mind to try and cope by making this up, because this?"

She kicked the table stuck into the wall, suddenly noting that her history data-pad was also fused into the wall, "This is not my imagination."

The agent sighed, "Honestly, kid? I don't know. All I know is, the same time this happened here, an entire city in China suddenly vanished into thin air. There's a huge crater where it was before, as if someone took a giant cookie cutter and scooped it out. And here? All I know is that the mass of the affected area is two times greater now."

Jamie stared in astonishment, "Do you think that the mass transferred from there to here? But how would that be possible?"

The agent seemed slightly impressed, "I don't know, kid. I'd have to sit and look at the results from both places, but that's higher than my pay grade."

He glowered at the air for a moment, before shaking his head and moving on, waving his technology over Uncle Frank's chair.

"D-don't..."

He looked back at her over his shoulder, and she squirmed in embarrassment. He seemed to study her for a moment, before nodding.

"Sure, kid. Take something you want from the house, anything. You won't be able to have anything after the science team drops in."

Jamie turned, eyes skimming over the familiar-yet-not-familiar house, trying to find the right things to take with her, before kicking the china cabinet and deciding she didn't want anything. Storming out of the house with a turmoil of anger and resentment and loneliness, she made a wide circle around the house, fighting back tears and emotions she didn't understand.

A glint of red caught her eye, and she glanced to her right to see the Rubik's cube she had dropped. Jamie bent down to pick it up, only a little surprised to find a few blades of grass stuck into the plastic, which she simply broke off. She sighed in relief when the cube twisted normally, clutching it tightly to her chest for a moment, glancing up at the roof where she had been sitting before the glowing earthquake. She squinted for a better view when she spotted a book sitting up there. She hadn't left a book up there.

Unable to contain her curiosity, she climbed up to her spot, finding that the book was actually a photo album.

"Hmm," she pursed her lips, picking it up and accidentally tearing off a corner of the outer cover that had been fused into the roof, "Oops..."

Opening it, she was greeted by the grinning faces of her parents the day they were married, George tucking Winnona under his arm and kissing her forehead while she batted at his flower thing tucked into the pocket of his jacket. An entire page filled with wedding cakes and food and flowers with people holding or posing with them, some whom she recognized, some whom she didn't.

She snickered at a particularly strange picture of Uncle Frank with a wreath of flowers in his hair and Winnona wrapping some strange flowing tissue paper around his waist as George held his hands behind Uncle Frank's head and imitated devil's horns (something a couple of Federation planets might not take so well). They were all laughing, all happy. Something in Jaime's throat swelled at the thought of Uncle Frank being _happy. _It seemed to her he had always been bitter and angry, even if he didn't take it out on anyone else before. She had seen her mother happy, but never Uncle Frank..

The next few pages were filled with pictures of friends, most of them from the U.S.S. Kelvin, all posing in different ways. One particularly fun picture had a group of Asian mathematicians with Winnona, all holding their phasers in bold and 'James Bond'esque poses as if posing for a movie poster. The next picture was of how they had all collapsed like dominoes, several of them pouting in indignation, but most of them simply giggling as they high-fived each other and Winnona held up her thumb with a smile that would put the sun to shame. Jamie grinned, knowing her grin matched her mother's perfectly.

She flipped through pages and pages of her older brother, most of these pictures familiar, until she reached the page where she should have been. After her father's death on the day of her birth, Winnona stopped taking pictures of herself with her children, instead, filling the camera with her beloved daughter's face and her son's amusing antics; the months following Jamie's birth had been recorded in hundreds of pictures of Jamie in her brand new clothes or right after she lost her umbilical cord or begun to shed the soft white baby hair on her head and begun to grow in darker, more golden hair. Obviously, most of those pictures didn't make it to the album, but at least two pages were dedicated to Jaime's newborn months.

But instead, she was greeted by the image of her father holding her(she knew what she looked like as a baby, and that was _her_) with Sam hovering over her with a look of awe and love.

She threw the book in shock, a stiff gasp constricting her throat as her hands recoiled. After the initial moment of shock, she bent down and picked the book up again, opening the page again. Trembling, she pulled out the picture, flipping it over to find Winnona's flowery writing:

_Daddy and big brother with James Tiberius Kirk. Another boy! _

Jamie's name...She reread the words, almost feeling as if the writing was not Standard but some bizarre alien writing.

"A boy?"

She flipped through pages of Sam's 6th birthday party, George Kirk in nearly every picture(though that might have been her current perception), then her first birthday.

She stared long and hard at the face sitting behind the one candle, shaking her head. It was _her _face, but with minute differences. She skipped ahead a few more pages, and found that the older the child in the pictures got, the less he looked like her...And yet, there was the look she'd give people when she had done something wrong, blinding blue eyes through dark eyelashes, or that grin she'd give to people she liked, or the Rubik's cube that had been the gift from her grandfather Tiberius on her 2nd birthday...Only George was showing the boy how to twist it around. A lump formed in her throat, and she skipped over a few more pages of friends from Star Fleet and found that the pictures of George stopped abruptly. Instead, it was Sam and the boy that was, but wasn't, her playing or studying, then a single picture of each child's birthday, as they blew out candles. One picture was of the boy, four or three years old, sitting on the hood of the red Corvette with a slightly larger girl who smiled ever so slightly at him with a look in her eyes that Jamie wanted to laugh at. But the strange point of the girl's ears and her dark clothes held more interest than the obvious crush she had. After a moment of contemplation, she shrugged and continued through the few pictures left, mostly of birthdays or an elementary school graduation or a journey to Disney Land with Winnona that Jaime had gone on as well.

Suddenly, she recognized the boy in the pictures. Her eyes widened. The glowing boy that had fallen through the car.

She closed the album, holding it to her chest as she climbed back down. For a moment she stood on the grass, staring out at the dusty road, worrying at her bottom lip, brow furrowed. Maybe...

Maybe it was an alternate universe. Her face lit up in excitement, as she carefully stacked her Rubik's cube on the photo album, placing them on the front porch before running into the house.

"Hey _STU-..._Um, Agent!" A thump from the kitchen answered her and she clambered over an overturned fan into the kitchen where the agent rubbed his head and grumbled.

"Kid, call me stupid one more time and I swear, I'll take back what I said about keeping something from your house."

"Hey, I didn't completely call you stupid..." Jamie glared at him, "Anyway, I have a theory."

The agent waved his instrument over the messy cabinets, drolly answering her, "A theory. About what?"

"Where this extra mass came from. It obviously didn't come from China," Jamie pulled out a chair and stood on it, crossing her arms.

"What makes you think that?"

"Because everything in the house has been duplicated, although a little bit wrong sometimes, and like, fused together. I think that the matter came through from another universe that probably exists in this same place, but another plane of reality...or something like that."

The agent stared at her for a moment, before bursting out laughing. Jamie glared at him, burning in indignation, and reached behind her, chucking a dirty plate from the table at his head, which he caught easily as he shook his head.

"Aw, kid, that's just...wow. Another universe? Sure, in theory, that's possible, but for matter to simply 'fall through' without provocation-"

"No, listen! Remember the shuttle last year that was caught in sort of a well where the laws of physics didn't work, and then they started working again? Another shuttle appeared in the same place that no other sensors but the ones on the shuttle picked up on, and then it disappeared?"

The agent stopped, raising an eyebrow, "That's classified information."

"My mom was in that shuttle," Jamie crossed her arms, grinning triumphantly, "The point is that the laws of physics have been bent and stuff before, so maybe where the laws are broken, whatever it is that keeps universes from falling into each other is-"

"Kid, you're taking completely irrelevant information and putting it together wrong. Okay? Other universes, falling through into each other, that's science fiction," the agent turned away, "Get your thing, and wait on the front porch for the agents that are actually trained to deal with you."

Jamie glared at him, irked at the insulting manner which he had treated her revelation, simply huffing and bouncing off the chair, swinging her foot in the general direction of the guy's shin before marching off to find the photo album her mom kept, placing it on top of the matching one she had found on the roof. She sighed, crossing her arms and rocking on her heels

"Who cares about Agent Jerk? I'm going to figure out what happened," she promised quietly.

* * *

**I keep reading 'Agent Jack' where I wrote 'Agent Jerk. :/ Am I the only one who trips over that? I mean, I'm the one who wrote it and still...**

**Anyway, I have nothing else to say, SO, review, please. ^^**

**Or else I'll sic my seh-lat on you.**

**...**

**Okay, so, neither I-Chaya from either world is mine, they're technically Mr. Spock's and Ms. Spock's. XD BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER. I fed him/her. She/he likes me. :P (seriously, English needs a gender-neutral pronoun like the Japanese have. This is annoying -.-) AND I'M, like, 45% CERTAIN that if I ask I-Chaya to chew you sheep(or wolves or whatever) or your avatars up, she will...O_o Or maybe that goes against some unknown Vulcan-animal-code. **

**...I think I'm tired, I'm ranting too much. I will take my graceless leave and fall facefirst into bed and snore what's left of the night away. ^^ Toodle-oO! **


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